1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of Internet navigation including various communication and connection technologies and pertains more particularly to methods and apparatus, including software, for providing auto-registration services to Internet sites for portal users operating on the Internet.
2. Discussion of the State of the Art
The information network known as the World Wide Web (WWW), which is a subset of the well-known Internet, is arguably the most complete source of publicly accessible information available. Anyone with a suitable Internet appliance such as a personal computer with a standard Internet connection may access (go on-line) and navigate to information pages (termed web pages) stored on Internet-connected servers for the purpose of garnering information and initiating transactions with hosts of such servers and pages.
Many companies offer various subscription services accessible via the Internet. For example, many people now do their banking, stock trading, shopping, and so forth from the comfort of their own homes via Internet access. Typically, a user, through subscription, has access to personalized and secure WEB pages for such functions. By typing in a user name and a password or other personal identification code, a user may obtain information, initiate transactions, buy stock, and accomplish a myriad of other tasks.
One problem that is encountered by an individual who has several or many such subscriptions to Internet-brokered services is that there are invariably many passwords and/or log-in codes to be used. Often a same password or code cannot be used for every service, as the password or code may already be taken by another user. A user may not wish to supply a code unique to the user such as perhaps a social security number because of security issues, including quality of security, that may vary from service to service. Additionally, many users at their own volition may choose different passwords for different sites so as to have increased security, which in fact also increases the number of passwords a user may have.
Another issue that can plague a user who has many passworded subscriptions is the fact that they must bookmark many WEB pages in a computer cache so that they may quickly find and access the various services. For example, in order to reserve and pay for airline travel, a user must connect to the Internet, go to his/her book-marks file and select an airline page. The user then has to enter a user name and password, and follow on-screen instructions once the page is delivered. If the user wishes to purchase tickets from the WEB site, and wishes to transfer funds from an on-line banking service, the user must also look for and select the personal bank or account page to initiate a funds transfer for the tickets. Different user names and passwords may be required to access these other pages, and things get quite complicated.
Although this preceding example is merely exemplary, it is generally known that much work related to finding WEB pages, logging in with passwords, and the like is required to successfully do business on the WEB.
A service known to the inventor and described in disclosure referenced by Ser. No. 09/208,740 listed under the cross-reference to related documents section provides a WEB service that allows a user to store all of his password protected pages in one location such that browsing and garnering information from them is much simplified. A feature of the above service allows a user to program certain tasks into the system such that requested tasks are executed by an agent (software) based on user instruction. The service stores user password and log-in information and uses the information to log-in to the user's sites, thus enabling the user to navigate without having to manually input log-in or password codes to gain access to the links.
The above-described service uses a server to present a user-personalized application that may be displayed as an interactive home page that contains all of his listed sites (hyperlinks) for easy navigation. The application lists the user's URLs in the form of hyperlinks such that a user may click on a hyperlink and navigate to the page wherein login, if required, is automatic, and transparent to the user.
The application described above also includes a software agent that may be programmed to perform scheduled tasks for the user including returning specific summaries and updates about user-account pages. A search function is provided and adapted to cooperate with the software agent to search user-entered URLs for specific content if such pages are cached somewhere in their presentable form such as at the portal server, or on the client's machine.
A further enhancement to the system described above is known to the inventor and described in the disclosure of application Ser. No. 09/323,598 also listed under the cross-reference section. The described enhancement consists of a means for obtaining information from WEB-based sources using a site-navigation script, a field template, and a means for parsing data. The navigation script follows site logic of a target WEB site containing the data for return to a user. Part of the template includes the description and location of the data requested by a user. A parsing engine acts to identify the new data for retrieval for a user. In this way, WEB summaries may be compiled on updated data at user-frequented sites.
A further enhancement to the above system is known to the inventor and disclosed under the patent application listed in the cross-reference section as Ser. No. 09/532,647 and entitled “Method and Apparatus for Retrieving Information From Semi-Structured, WEB-Based Data Sources”.
In the enhancement described above, an Internet search system is structured for efficient data retrieval from semi-structured data sources. Using a text selection and configuration tool, a user is enabled to navigate to a WEB-site, or multiple WEB-sites, and pre-select the block areas of information that contain data that he or she wishes to be accessed and retrieved during future automated data searches. The data type entered by a provided data input function is associated with a WEB page block selected, and upon search implementation the block selected is searched for the data type requested, and data found is retrieved to be provided to the user. In a preferred embodiment portions of the system are executed on a user station, and other portions on a Portal server to which the user may subscribe. In this way, a user may have data retrieved from semi-structured sources and presented in the form of a summary page.
The Portal system with the above-described enhancements taught in the cross-referenced patent applications also features an automatic registration service available to users if they want information from a WEB-site or service that requires registration. If the WEB pages are new to a user, and the user has no registration with the WEB site, then through agreement, or other convention, the service may be provided access to such sites. Such an agreement may be made, for example, if the host of the WEB site realizes a possibility of gaining a new customer if the customer likes the summary information presented. In disclosure taught thus far, auto registration is fairly limited to include only sites that are requested by a user and whom are cooperative to the procedure.
It has occurred to the inventor that the functions of auto-registration may be expanded to include a plurality of pre-configured WEB-services which are looking for new clients. Such a value-added service may provide researched and rated service sites that collectively provide all of the types of singular or multiple services that a Portal subscriber may need or desire.
Auto-registration as taught thus far in applications known to the inventor still requires considerable data input from a user wishing to register to a site. Moreover, a subscriber must perform his or her own analytical research in site comparison in order to determine which of a plurality of available sites are most likely to provide optimum service to the user.
An object of the present invention is to make such services available in automated fashion allowing a user to gain such services through a novel one-touch technology that is not available with prior auto-registration services. Another object of the present invention is to rate such services based on performance and to select, and in some cases customize, such services on behalf of users according to profile information stored on behalf of users.
What is clearly needed is a method and apparatus that enables a user to request and receive automatic registration to WEB sites or services through a one-touch function from a single user interface. Such a system will provide an effective value-added service to users wherein most pre-registration complexities associated with weighted decisions regarding which service to choose from and what service options to obtain from a service may be eliminated.